```{tags} Mobility-Impairment, People-with-Disabilities, Location-and-Venue, Bathrooms, Hearing-Impairment, Visual-Impairment, Other-Impairments, LGBTQ+, Women, People-with-Allergies, Parents-and-Carers, Religious-Groups, Being-Respectful, Giving-Participants-Room-To-Be-Who-They-Are
```
(venue_selection_and_on-site_services)=
# Venue Selection & On-Site Services

## Accessibility Considerations
- Consider attendees who may need accommodations for a disability

### Mobility

- 🍎 Reserve seats in rooms for folks who might need it (wheelchair, crutches, cane, etc.). Choose easily accessible seats, such as at the end of a row on the aisle. 
- 🍎 Create wide aisles (2.5 m, so two power chairs can pass each other) between chairs to make it easier for people who are mobility-impaired to navigate the room.
- Reduce conference sprawl to support access for people who are mobility-impaired.
- Consider marking and enforcing "No Standing Zones" through rooms such as foyers that are both gathering areas and regions people must pass through. (A 2.5 m "corridor" marked on the ground in yellow tape is ideal.)
- Consider making remote access available via livestream, recorded talks, etc.
- Make sure the building is wheelchair accessible. (In the U.S. this is typically required by law.)
- Be aware of how far/near the closest wheelchair-accessible restrooms are. Attempt to shorten this distance when possible, and be sure all staff know where to direct attendees who require a wheelchair-accessible restroom. 

### Create Access Visual & Hearing Disabilities

- ✅ Book sign-language interpreters and/or real-time captioning (someone typing captions) for deaf and hard-of-hearing attendees. 
  - If the budget does not allow for both sign-language interpreters and captioning, we suggest that you opt for captioning, as it tends to create more access for a higher number of people. (See "Further Reading" below.)
- Select a venue that has a hearing loop, or audio induction loop (a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids) and make sure it is used

#### Signage
- Consider using patterns rather than just color on signs and presentation slides to indicate differences, to make comprehension easier for attendees with color blindness/low vision issues.
- Provide large-text signs and easy-to-read maps.
- Send maps to attendees in advance, with the event schedule. 
- Provide large-print copies of printed materials, such as program booklets, via printing normally A5 documents on A4, or folded A4-booklets on A3.

#### Microphones
- 🍎 Ask conference organizers to announce important information over the microphone, which helps people with impaired vision.
- Make sure that hand-held microphones are available 
- Encourage session chairs to repeat questions from the audience over the mic so everyone can hear
- Session chairs should ensure that the microphone is used (even if the speaker thinks their voice is loud enough)

**Further Reading:**

- [Accessible conference guide](http://www.sigaccess.org/welcome-to-sigaccess/resources/accessible-conference-guide/)
- [Supporting deaf/hard of hearing people at conferences](https://adacamp.org/adacamp-toolkit/supporting-deaf-people/)
- [Demarcated access Lanes](https://adacamp.org/adacamp-toolkit/access-lanes/)
- [Venue evaluation](https://adacamp.org/adacamp-toolkit/venue-evaluation/)
- [Facilitating access for chronically ill/disabled professionals](https://figshare.com/articles/Ecologist_in_silico_Facilitating_access_for_chronically_ill_disabled_ecologists/1502697)
- [Improving the Color Accessibility for Color Blind Users](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/06/improving-color-accessibility-for-color-blind-users/)
- [Accessibility, sensory friendliness and neurodiversity friendliness at events](https://gist.github.com/katsel/b8fbd1a35734708d5e654bb5153a5aa3) via [@katsel](https://gist.github.com/katsel)
- [Captioning vs Sign Language – A No Brainer?](https://therebuttal2.com/2016/01/28/captioning-vs-sign-language-a-no-brainer/)
- [A Note From Your Colleagues With Hearing Loss: Just Use a Microphone Already](https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Note-From-Your-Colleagues/245916) (*Subscription may be required for full access*)
- [What is a hearing loop?]( https://www.hearinglink.org/technology/hearing-loops/what-is-a-hearing-loop/)

## Bathrooms

### Gender-Neutral Bathrooms

- Ideally you would provide 3 types of restrooms: gender-neutral, female, male.
- ✅ Ensuring your conference has easily accessible gender-neutral restrooms is a simple way to help non-binary and trans individuals feel included and welcome at your conference.
- How to re-label bathrooms:
  - 🍎 List the specific amenities and what type of restroom it is. For example:
  - "All Gender Restroom: Facilities available in this restroom include individual stall toilets, an accessible stall toilet, urinals, sinks, and a changing table" For detailed guidelines and examples of inclusive restroom signage, refer to [Best Practices for All-Gender Restroom Signage](https://pridefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/All-Gender-Restrooms.pdf).
  - Post signs in the restroom and/or on the door instructing what to do if you think someone is in the "wrong" restroom 
    - For example: "If you think someone's gender doesn't match the sign on the door, please follow these steps: Don't worry about it, they know better than you." (via [@LGBTplusBristol](https://twitter.com/lgbtplusbristol))

### Toiletries/Supplies

- 🍎 Provide tampons and pads in **all** restrooms (some people who identify as male have periods and may need them)
- Consider using fragrance-free hand wash and reducing the use of air fresheners to help those with chemical sensitivities.

**Further Reading:**

- [Gender neutral restrooms](https://adacamp.org/adacamp-toolkit/gender-neutral-restrooms/)
- [An easy way to tell if a tech company doesn't give a sh\*t about women](https://medium.com/@melissamcewen/an-easy-way-to-tell-if-a-tech-company-doesnt-give-a-s-about-women-fb6f61249e3d)
- [Queerly Represent Me: Planning an Inclusive Event](https://queerlyrepresent.me/resources/articles/event-accessibility)

## 🍎 Dedicated rooms

- The rooms should be clearly labeled to prevent accidental entry, and their locations should be provided in both the print and the online conference directory and maps.
- Don't allow anyone (even organizers) to use the room for other purposes.

### 🍎 Nursing & Pumping Room

- Ensure there is a dedicated, single-occupancy space with a locking door.
- For the room to be optimally useful, these things are desired:
  - Locking door
  - Comfortable chair (ideally, with arms that do not have gaps between the armrest and the seat, and a set of firm cushions for positioning an infant)
  - A desk or table next to the chair (to set the pump, bottles, etc. on), no more than 4 feet from the nearest electrical outlet
  - Cleaning wipes, paper towels, and a garbage can for maintaining cleanliness
  - Masking tape and a marker for labeling milk bottles and pump parts
  - Proximity to a sink for handwashing and washing of pump parts
  - A refrigerator for storage of pumped milk (could be in the pumping room, or ideally accessible outside the room but nearby)
  - If possible, a dimmable light or a small lamp could be provided instead of bright overhead lighting

### 🍎 Gender-Neutral Bottle Feeding Room

  - Bottle-fed babies can be fed by caregivers of any gender and also benefit from a quiet, low-distraction, private space for feeding.
  - This should be a separate, additional room (**NOT the same as the nursing and pumping room**). It could accommodate multiple babies at a time and be equipped with:
    - Multiple comfortable chairs with broad armrests to facilitate bottle feeding positions
    - A bottle warmer
    - Paper towels, cleaning wipes and garbage can for cleanliness
    - Dim lighting and in a quiet area of the conference center/venue
    - Clearly labeled to prevent accidental entry, though a locking door is not necessary

**Further Reading:**

- [How to accommodate a breastpumping mom at your event](http://miriamposner.com/blog/how-to-accommodate-a-breastpumping-mom-at-your-event)
- [How to Set Up a Lactation Room to Support Breastfeeding at Work](https://web.archive.org/web/20190717082756/https://www.verywellfamily.com/lactation-room-breastfeeding-at-work-3545106)

### 🍎 Quiet Room (also Prayer Room)

- A dedicated room for people who need a break from the stimulation of being surrounded by people at the conference.
  - No phone calls, talking/socializing, etc.
  - Put notifications on silent/vibrate.
  - People whose religions require frequent prayer (such as Muslims) can make use of the quiet room.
- Ideal is to provide one well lit quiet room, and a second dimly lit room.
- Consider "quiet areas" if a separate room is not possible.